Unchained
by JMBC
Summary: Bella and Edward met under dire circumstances, coming together to fight for their lives. In the process, will they be able to find something more? AU/AH BxE


**A/N: I do not own Twilight and I am not SM! So no infringement intended.**

**On to my O/S Unchained. It was actually a school assignment, but I figured I'd let you guys see it. I had originally intended Mafia Bargains to be my finished product, but there was absolutely no way I was going to be able to fit all of MB into 10pgs double spaced, so I changed it up a bit. It has the same opening, but different story completely. It will stay a one shot unless somewhere down the road, like millions of miles, I decide to expand this into a multi chapter story. But I would assume the story would expand what's already there. (So this would become an outline of sorts.)**

**See y'all below!**

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Kneeling. The long fibers of the stiff, shaggy, olive carpet dug into their knees. They watched as the two pairs of shiny black penny loafers circled them slowly. They dared not look up.

"If you just tell me where she is, I'll let both of you go," one of the men said in his greasy voice as they both continued to circle the couple.

"We don't know where she is!" the husband begged for their life with no knowledge of where their niece was.

"I think you're lying," the second man sneered as he backhanded the husband across the face. The force with which he had hit the husband, caused him to fall backwards and hit his head on the solid mahogany coffee table. He collapsed on the rug below with his arms still duct taped behind him.

The wife screamed loudly as she looked over at her husband. The red blood dripped from a cut in his cheek the man's ring had made, and a sinister stain slowly spread further from the back of the husband's head. The wife scrambled toward him as fast as she could while being bound to see if she could help him. Comfort him. Hold him.

"As soon as you tell us where your niece is, we'll leave. You'll have a chance to save him if you just cooperate. You can trust me. All we want is the girl. You and the boss had a deal, you would get the three million and if you couldn't pay up in a timely manner, she would be the collateral. Guess what? You haven't paid up and now we want what you promised us. We've come to collect and as soon as you tell us where she is, we'll get out of here and leave you two alone," the second man sneered from behind them.

"We don't know!" the wife screamed at the men as she held her paling husband the best she could, blubbering over his weakening body. She knew. The moment she saw them, she knew. The second they gave up where their niece was, they were both going to die. But what other choice did they have? Their only options were to tell them where their niece was or die? Surely there had to be a compromise they could reach, right?

The woman sobbed into her husband's button up shirt, turning it a darker tan. She chanced a look up at the two men before she sniveled. "Please, we know she's somewhere in the house, but we don't know where. Please, we've told you everything we know. Please don't hurt us anymore! We told you where she was! You promised to leave us alone now!"

"We lied," the first man growled.

Without another word, the second man lifted his hand towards the husband and the wife screamed shrilly as it sounded like a bomb exploded. The screaming only lasted a moment. It ended along with her life when another quick, loud bang echoed through the house ominously. The house slowly began to smell of copper and sickly decomposing flesh as the crimson blood slowly turned the olive shaggy rug a shiny, sticky black.

The house was deathly silent as the two men drove off in their shiny, sleek, black BMW with tinted windows, an unconscious teenage girl in the back seat and a bag of jewelry from the house safe on the floor of the backseat.

*U*N*C*H*A*I*N*E*D*

She woke up to someone shaking her gently in a dark, moldy smelling room. The only illumination came from the muted light seeping from the small gap under the door. When she gained her bearings, she scrambled into the corner, away from the other figure.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you," the distinctly male voice rasped from the other side of the eight by eight storage closet. "I'm Edward. What's your name?"

"B-B-Bella…" she whispered hoarsely. She cleared her throat before asking "where are we?"

"I have no clue. They took me from my home, and I woke up here. I'm not even sure we're still in California."

Her aunt and uncle's still bodies on their living room floor flashed through her mind quickly. They had been dragging her out of the house as she kicked and screamed, trying to get away until they passed the room. She smelled the rust and tasted the tinge of copper on her tongue before she saw the blood pooling on the carpet below and around their bodies and the blood spatter all over the couch behind them. Bella squeezed her eyes shut tighter as she tried to repress the memory of her aunt's lifeless body thrown over her uncle's chest with the back of her head missing; brain matter sprayed all over the room.

"They killed my aunt and uncle," Bella cried out quietly, her voice trembling. "I have no one now."

"Everything's going to be ok. It has to…"

"I've seen their faces. They're not about to let me go. There's no way they won't kill me if I can identify them."

"Maybe the police will find us before then…" Edward said, almost trying to convince himself of what he was saying.

"And maybe pigs can fly," Bella muttered angrily.

"We still have a little bit of time. They give us some food every so often through a slot in the door, not much, but it's something…"

"Did you check for ways out of here?" she asked as she started to feel the walls behind her for any inconsistencies. They felt like they were made of large cool stones mortared together with absolutely no weak points.

"I already checked. There's a small flap in the door to send our food in, but the only way in or out of here is the door."

"Great…" Bella mumbled as she looked around the room. "Ok, let's see what we have to work with here."

"You don't waste any time going all MacGyver, do you?" he inquired with a slight smile in his tone. If they were anywhere else, she might have found it funny.

"I want to get out of here. The sooner we figure out what we have to work with, the sooner we can come up with a plan to actually accomplish that. Besides, I loved MacGyver when I was younger, but making a submarine out of a paperclip and some bubble gum is completely unrealistic."

Bella removed her shoes and pulled out the laces, placing them on the floor near the small amount of light they had to work with. She put on the tennis shoes again before pulling from her hair a few bobby pins she always had and laying them next to the laces.

Edward got the picture and finally started to assess what stuff they had to work with. He pulled off his own shoes doing the same with the laces. He pulled off his watch and rummaged through his pockets. There he had a couple of coins, a small Swiss Army knife and a match book with one match left.

Bella looked over at him with furrowed brows and inquired, "They didn't frisk you too well, did they?" Edward chuckled and shook his head, setting the items on the floor in the light: four socks, two bobby pins, four shoe laces, three coins, a watch, a utility knife and one match. "Maybe we can burn the door down?" Edward asked.

"That won't work. Even if the door catches, the smoke would kill us before we were able to escape," she explained as if speaking to a small child. Anyone should have known that burning a door down so they could get out would be suicide.

"That's out then. What do you suggest?"

"How often do they send food in?" Bella asked as she continued to stare at the items like they were going to tell her what to do. She was trying her hardest to remember what her father taught her before he died. _Always think outside the box._ The box, in this case, was the room. Think outside the room.

"Every eight hours or so. It's coming up in about an hour, I guess. Why? You think you have something?"

Bella looked over at him and paused for a moment before she swiped the stuff away from the door and lay down on her chest, looking through the sliver of a gap and into the other room behind the door. She saw the simple layout of the room and realized they must be in a small cabin somewhere.

She sat back up and started feeling around where the latch was on the door. "Do you know how this locks?"

"Yeah, there's like a little knob they turn and it latches around something inside the wood there. Are you going to tell me what's going on now?"

She smiled and asked, "By any chance, do you know how to braid hair?"

"Some."

"Well, we're going to need to do some major braiding to make this work, even then, I'm not sure if we'll be able to pull it off," she told him as she took the knife and cut some of her long brunette hair. She handed Edward some of the strands and continued, "We need to braid three strands together tightly before we take three of those braids and braid them together. It'll make the hair stronger and more durable. Do you think we can do that before the hour is up?" Edward didn't bother wasting time to answer. He grabbed some of the strands and got to work braiding three strands of hair together.

It took most of the hour to braid the hair, building it stronger until they were done. Bella took the hair and tied it off on the ends making it a circle about the size of her wrist. She looked over at Edward and told him, "Let's hope this works."

They didn't have to wait long before they heard heavy footsteps come closer. The flap in the door opened and in rolled an apple and a banana. Before it could shut, Bella put her hand on the bottom of the trap door where the lock was and begged, "Please, can we get some water? Please? We need water…"

"You get what you're given, now shut up!" He screamed at them before he slammed the flap door shut and twisted the lock.

Bella sat back against the wall and looked over at Edward. She couldn't see much of his face, but the little she could see showed disappointment.

"What?" Bella asked, not quite sure what she missed to make him look like that.

"Now what do we do? Wait until next time?"

"For what?"

"To do what you were planning."

Bella reached over and picked up the part of the loop that was inside with them and looked over at him. She smiled timidly at him and shrugged before she told him, "All done. Now we just have to wait for a while until they aren't suspecting anything and then break free."

"Where did you learn all this stuff?"

"My dad. He was a cop before he died. He always told me to take in my surroundings and what I had at my disposal, you know, think outside the box. We watched MacGyver together when I was younger. He taught me everything I know."

"I'm sorry…"

Bella shrugged as she looked back at the flap and the piece of hair.

"You learn sleight of hand from him, too?" Edward asked curiously.

She looked over at him and smirked. "Of course I did. How do you think I got so many cookies as a child? He taught me sleight of hand when it came to getting more than one cookie from my mom after school most days. Now all we have to do is wait until the most opportune moment and hopefully we'll be out of here."

"Not to burst your bubble, but even with the flap open, how are we supposed to get out? I can't fit through there. I'm too big."

"That's where I come in with the bobby pins. I squeeze through and pick the door lock from the outside."

"Are you sure you can fit through there?" he asked skeptically as he looked between Bella and the flap, trying to determine if she would be able to fit.

Bella bit her lower lip and shrugged, "I'm going to have to fit, otherwise we're both screwed."

The two of them listened closely to the movement on the other side of the door, waiting for the most opportune moment to escape. The men on the other side of the doo were talking just loudly enough for the sound to be heard from their confines. Bella knew they would only be able to make a run for it if the entire place was completely empty. They would be able to take their time and make some noise and not have to worry about their captors catching them trying to escape.

"Do you think the boy's aunt and uncle will pay up now? They can see what we're capable of. It's not like we won't kill him if we don't get our money…" The first man asked.

"I think he'll be the easiest one. The aunt and uncle will want their precious golden boy back unharmed. Once we get the money, we'll send him back…in pieces." Bella looked over at a sickly looking Edward. He paled, with a slightly green tinge, as the words registered. She reached over and patted his shin, trying to comfort him in any way possible in that place. "I just hope we can deal with the girl quickly too. We picked some easy paychecks, that's for sure."

"Did you see Ed's face when we stormed into the house?" the second man chortled loudly. "I thought he was going to have a heart attack! Too bad he didn't suspect what we were concocting when he defended us last year. He may have just refused to take our case. And Phil! Ha!"

The kidnappers laughed together and started to sing an old Irish drinking song they were obviously familiar with as they started locking everything up to leave.

Bella and Edward waited until nightfall to make their move. They quietly, and oh so carefully, managed to slide the hook off the metal bar with the looped hair and unlocked the trap door. It wasn't big by any sense of the word, only a foot in width and a foot and a half tall; an old doggy door in the bottom of the closet door. Bella would have to squeeze to fit, but it was life or death. What were a few scratches here and there when you got to live?

When they determined nobody was there at the small, one room cabin they decided it was then or never. Bella made sure she had the bobby pins clipped to the front collar of her shirt for easy access and slowly made it through the flap in the door. She was fairly petite, but that didn't stop her chest from hindering her movement; she had to suck it in as she twisted to be able to continue to slither through the door.

It took Bella a few long, tense moments to slip through the flap, but when she emerged on the floor outside the room with a thud, she quickly got up and started picking the lock. They couldn't afford to wait around to rest when they didn't know when their captors would return.

The darkness hindered Bella's lock picking speed but she still managed to get it done. She stood up and pulled the door open to see Edward standing there, waiting to be released. She could see the faint smile on his lips even in the dark. Edward quickly grabbed her arm and started rushing her towards the door to the cabin. He wanted to get out of there as quickly as possible.

As they reached the front door of the small cabin and Edward flung it open, Bella stopped and pulled him to a halt at the frame of the front door. He looked back at her with a questioning look. _Why didn't she want to get out of there?_

"Edward, we need some sort of light. It's dark in the woods at night. We need to see where we're going. Give me two minutes, let me go look around for a flashlight or two," Bella replied as she scurried off to do just that.

It took her about three minutes to come back with three flashlights. She held them up to Edward with a giant smile on her face. He smiled back at her as she handed one of the flashlights to him and put the other two into a backpack.

"I found some other things we may be able to use when we're out there. Let's go. This place is giving me the creepers." Bella mumbled as she strapped the backpack onto her back and looked over at Edward, signaling she was ready. They took off into the woods, not caring how loud they were, and continued running until their legs felt like they were going to fall off.

Almost an hour after they left the cabin they stopped to catch their breath. They both needed a rest, but they decided to keep pushing on since they had no idea how much of a head start they had gotten before the kidnappers found they were gone. This time they walked.

The walk started out silent, neither of them wanted to disrupt the peace resonating in the forest around them. Finally when he couldn't take the silence any more, Edward asked Bella, "How did they get you?"

Bella sighed and glanced at Edward quickly before she looked back to watch her footing, "All I really remember is coming home from high school that afternoon, going up to take a nap before I needed to get dinner started… I woke up to my uncle yelling and my aunt sobbing. I didn't think twice about it because it happened all the time. I was on my way to the bathroom when I heard an unfamiliar male voice start screaming at them and didn't know what was going on. I had no clue what was happening but I didn't want to find out so I ran into the bathroom and hid in one of the cupboards like my father always told me to do if someone broke into the house…"

"A bathroom cupboard as a hiding place?" Edward asked, amused.

"Well, under the bed and in the closet are so cliché, don't you think? In the bathroom cupboard, nobody would have thought to look for me."

"Obviously they did," Edward observed, as he pointed to her, standing next to him.

"They were thorough assholes, I'll give them that. I heard the gunshots and it was like everything was in slow motion or something… I waited there in the cupboard frozen for so long my legs…my legs started cramping up. It felt like I waited forever after I heard the gunshots and I- I thought I was in the clear when this- monster busts open the cupboard door and yanks me out by my hair. I fought them so hard…all the way down the stairs and into the car. They shoved a cloth…over my face when we hit the front door. It knocked me out or something. I guess they threw me in the back seat of the car and drove off. The next thing I knew, I woke up in that closet with you."

"You'll never know just how grateful I am that you did. You saved my ass."

Bella smirked up at him as she shrugged one shoulder to try and play off the emotions running through her and replied, "All in a day's work. Don't mention it because by saving your butt, I'm saving mine as well." He laughed heartily and shook his head. "What happened to bring you here?" she inquired.

"I had just finished working on my college applications for the night-" Edward explained before Bella interrupted him.

"Are those hard? I have to do them next year. I'm not really looking forward to those…"

"Nah, they're ok. You get the hang of them after the tenth or eleventh one. Anyway, I had finished getting those done and had already gotten ready for bed. My mom and dad were already asleep in their bed. It was pretty late and I had just laid down when I heard a crash from the first floor. I didn't know what it was so I hid under my bed," he chuckled.

Bella chuckled along with him before she stated, "How cliché of you."

Edward bumped her shoulder with his as they continued to walk, "I know, isn't it? Maybe that's why they found me quickly. Who knows? I heard the gunshots in my parent's room and they tasered me when they found me. I woke up in that room some time before you got there. I wonder why we were kidnapped…"

"No clue, but it almost seemed like they were targeting me. They kept asking my aunt and uncle where I was. It was so strange….I thought it had something to do with my father at first, but after listening to them in the cabin, I know that's not what it was…"

Edward watched her silently for a few steps before he asked, "How are you so calm all the time? It's like nothing ever rattles you; at least not that I've seen."

Bella kicked the ground with her tennis shoe as she shrugged. "I guess it has to do with my dad- how he died."

"May I ask how?" Edward asked carefully.

"I told you before was a police officer. When I was thirteen he took me on my first ride along and the third man he pulled over that day didn't want to go back to prison due to an arrest warrant on him, so he shot my father as he fled. As he died in my arms on the side of the road my dad told me not to be afraid when I was put in difficult situations, and to use my head before I panicked. I guess, after having to go through that, and then taking care of my mother as she died of a broken heart, the thought of going crazy isn't my first thought. The thought of panicking is foreign to me. My first thought is always something along the lines of: _how am I going to fix this?_" Bella looked around; trying to change the subject so she wouldn't go crazy and he wouldn't pity her. "I think we've gone far enough for now. Why don't we try and hunker down to get some sleep tonight and pick up walking tomorrow in the day light?"

"Are you sure we've gone far enough?"

"When was the last time you slept? Ate? Had something to drink?"

Edward thought for a moment and nodded. "I guess you're right. Better to be well rested for tomorrow… We're going to need water before long."

"Like this?" Bella inquired. She reached into the backpack and pulled out a liter bottle of water and threw it at him. She watched as he deftly caught it in his hands. "I could only find two of those so we need to use it sparingly. We have no clue when we're going to get out of here and we need to be prepared for the worst possible scenario."

Edward took a long pull of the cool water and felt it slide down his parched throat, soothing it. He capped the bottle and asked, "What else do you have in that bag of yours?"

"I have a tattered blanket, but who knows what it's infested with. I guess we'll just have to take a risk if we want to stay warm tonight. I also have the other flashlights and a jacket we can use for a pillow or something. It's not thick enough to be used for warmth. I grabbed a few apples and bananas so I hope you like fruit."

"It's something, so I'll make do. There's a small cut out over there. Why don't we bunk in there for the night? It'll at least keep us out of the rain since it looks like it will soon."

After putting some large green leaves down on the ground, Edward and Bella turned around in the temporary nest a few times to determine where each of them would lay for the night. Finally Bella huffed in frustration about dancing around one another and flopped down on the inside position, giving Edward the opening of the shelter. He lay down, being careful not to touch Bella. She flung the holey, periwinkle blanket over him to keep him warm as they shared the jacket as a pillow.

During the night they had migrated to one another and when they woke up, they were spooning; Edward's chest to Bella's back. The moment they woke up and realized what had happened, they immediately jumped away from one another and rushed to get out of the shelter. They needed to get moving to find help. Why dwell on the awkward situation?

An hour into the walk, Bella couldn't take the quiet from either of them, and sighed in frustration. She looked over at Edward and asked, "What? What's wrong? It's not like we did anything last night. We were probably just cold and subconsciously looking for some warmth wherever we could or something. I won't make a big deal about it if you don't. Ok? Just…please…"

Edward didn't look at her, but nodded just the same. The tips of his ears turned pink as he watched where he walked. Bella couldn't help the small smile on her lips when she realized he was embarrassed. She chuckled and wrapped her arm under his and continued walking close to him.

The both of them walked the entire day and just as twilight covered the forest with semi-darkness, they stumbled out of the thick accumulation of trees laughing at one another.

The site before them was emotional. There they were, standing in a children's park with mothers calling their children here and there to get home. Bella looked up at Edward with a sparkle in her eyes as her smile widened and she took off running towards the nearest mother.

"Excuse me!" she called trying to get the young mother's attention. "Excuse me! Ma'am!"

The mother turned around while she tucked her little boy behind her legs. She looked at Bella suspiciously before she asked, "Yes?"

"My name is Bella. May I borrow your phone? It's an emergency…"

The mother looked behind Bella and saw Edward standing there, looking fairly awkward but trying to keep his distance. "Is he bothering you?" she asked in a whisper.

"No, he's actually in the same boat I'm in. Please? It'll only take a few minutes. I promise. I'll let you hold onto my backpack so you know I won't run away with it…" The mother traded the phone with Bella for her backpack. Bella stood there and immediately called the police and explained the situation, adding that she and Edward were in a park, though they didn't know the name of it or where it was located.

No more than five minutes later there were swarms of police descending upon the park in full SWAT gear just in case the assailants were still in the vicinity, all wanting to be the hero by bringing back the two teenagers. The next ten hours were consumed with getting Edward and Bella to the hospital to treat their dehydration and any possible injuries, while the police questioned each on what happened and how they managed to escape.

Edward's aunt and uncle, Carlisle and Esme, arrived that night and stayed with them in their hospital room. They often left to talk to the authorities so as not to disturb the two teenagers while resting. They would not tell Edward and Bella what they were talking about with the police, no matter how hard they were pushed.

The following days were hectic. It seemed like they were all being pulled in multiple directions: trying to determine where Bella would go and who would have temporary custody of the minor; trying to stay out of the public eye since the press was crowding the two teenagers and Edward's aunt and uncle for the next big story. A story about two teenagers being kidnapped and then found, unharmed, would be the highlight of their careers.

The hospital finally released Edward and Bella the next day after treating the dehydration in both teenagers and a few days after that, a judge granted Carlisle and Esme permanent custody of Bella, since she had no other family, the judge having spoken to her privately. Bella was grateful for the familiar faces in the new house as the press constantly attacked her for stories, quotes and pictures.

Carlisle and Esme's house in Malibu was a four bedroom, three bathroom modern looking house with lavish décor and little room for clutter. They put Bella in the pale blue spare bedroom down the hall from Edward's bedroom as opposed to the one on the first floor.

The nightmares the two teenagers had were horrendous and caused screaming that kept everyone in the nearby houses up at night. The screaming and thrashing were only assuaged when Edward brought his pillow and blanket into Bella's room and curled up on the floor next to her bed. The small hand hanging over the edge of the mattress gripped his extended one as they were finally able to sleep peacefully for the first time in three long weeks.

Almost a month after being found and some intensive, exhaustive therapy to help with the nightmares, Carlisle and Esme felt it safe to leave the two teenagers to their own devices at home while they went out to deal with some legal paperwork for Bella's guardianship. It would only be an hour or two since they had only to sign the paperwork, but it didn't stop Esme from worrying about them. Carlisle had to pry her out of the house that afternoon so they could get back sooner.

When the adults left, Edward managed to put together a couple of sandwiches while Bella pulled out some grapes from the fridge putting some on each plate. She grabbed them as Edward went to grab some sodas from the fridge. Bella was just about to step around to sit on the couch when a hand slapped around her face covering her mouth. The plates and food collided with the hardwood floor of the family room, with a resounding crash as the plates shattered. She felt the cool metal of the barrel of a gun pressed against her lower back. Bella's eyes sought out Edward, who was in the same conundrum across the room with the other kidnapper.

The intruder holding Bella breathed in her ear, forcing her to turn her head from the awful stench of his breath. "I'm going to take my hand off your mouth now, if either one of you scream or try to get away, you both die. Do you understand me?" Edward and Bella nodded in unison as the men let free their mouths.

To stall the men from kidnapping them a second time, Bella thought fast, thinking about what her father told her before he died. She had to stall. _As soon as they get you out of the house, you're as good as dead._ And she was quite certain they would not let them escape a second time. "Why are you doing this? Why us?"

The man across the room looked over Edward's head at her and sneered as he explained, "You think you're so special? Why you? You were convenient; an easy pay check for those who are running a little low on funds at the moment. But don't worry, that'll all change in a day or two. Why don't you come with us and keep us company until we get that money? Don't worry; your boyfriend will be coming too…"

"What are you talking about? My aunt and uncle didn't have any money…" Bella asked, clearly confused. _How was she supposed to be an easy paycheck when she didn't have any money and no means to get a hold of any?_

"Who knew a drug dealer would have a niece with so much inheritance?" The man sneered in her ear, trying to provoke a reaction from her.

The intruder over with Edward wondered aloud, "I wonder why she got it, instead of him."

"Who cares?" the second replied, "It's going to be ours soon!"

Not one to allow her friend to believe these men, Bella replied heatedly, "He was a horrible man, a drunkard, who gambled away all of his own money. My aunt wasn't much better with her drugs. They weren't nice people when they got desperate, and sometimes took it out on me." Edward watched as her eyes became distant and teary, recalling moments she never should have lived through at the hands of her own flesh and blood. "The only things I can think of that would be worth anything are the house, my aunt's jewelry and my inheritance, but I don't get that for another year and a half."

"You can just sign the inheritance and everything else over to us, make our job so much easier and quicker…" the first one told her, excited to finally get a large pay out. "Then we won't have to hold you for two years only to kill you once we get what we need."

Shaking her head, Bella answered, "That's not how it works though! You really have no clue how the legal or banking system works do you!" she hissed at the men. _If they were going to kidnap her to get everything she was entitled to, the least they could do was do their homework before hand to make sure they got everything right. Otherwise, why waste all the time and effort?_ "That wouldn't have worked at all. My body would have to have been found and even then it wouldn't go to you. Even if you had the paperwork it still wouldn't, because it needs to be notarized and everything. More importantly, the authorities need to see I'm alive…Idiots," she mumbled, completely disregarding her safety to set the menacing gunmen straight.

"How do you know that?" The man holding her hostage asked.

Edward was wondering the same. He thought since he had been in prep schools all his life, he would know something as peculiar and helpful as that, but he saw just how lacking the prep schools were in these types of situations. Shrugging, Bella shook her head, but didn't answer the man's question.

Bella looked across the way to Edward and pleaded with him to understand with her eyes as the guy started dragging her towards the front door. She was not about to die today. "I'm sorry…"

Edward's eyes widened with the realization of what she intended to do. He took in a deep chest full of air to plead with her to just…cooperate so they would both live when she made her move.

_Solar plexus, instep, nose, groin_, Bella thought as she connected with each of the body parts on her assailant. He dropped to the floor with a thud quickly as her foot connected brutally with his family jewels. He gripped them like it would help relieve the debilitating pain that was rolling through his entire body in waves. Edward whimpered from across the room at the sight and cringed in sympathy for the horrible man, like all men do when they see another man get pummeled there.

The gunshot rocked the windows throughout the house, and they threatened to shatter. The deafening noise didn't stall Bella more than a second as she picked up the gun which the wounded, unscrupulous man had dropped to cup himself. She flicked the safety off as she spun around and held it pointed towards Edward and the ruthless man holding him hostage.

The man barked out a laugh as he stood there with his gun pointed at her. "What are you going to do, little girl? Shoot me? Good luck finding the trigger," he mocked. "You couldn't hit the broad side of a barn. You won't risk it with your little boyfriend right here. Careful, you might hit him instead. Take your best shot…"

Bella looked the man straight in the eyes and pulled the trigger, without flinching. The sound echoed off the windows, rattling them yet again. The man grasping Edward loosened his grip as he fell back onto the floor, half inside the kitchen, half still in the living room, as if he were falling in slow motion. Edward stood there in his spot, with eyes that looked like they were about ready to pop out of their sockets. He slowly turned around and looked at the man lying on the floor with the bullet hole in his forehead right between the eyes. There was a small trail of crimson leaking out of the wound. It trailed off down the side of his head where it started dripping into a larger, fast growing pool of red below. Edward looked back at Bella, mouth gaping and stood there, not sure what to say or do.

Bella looked over at the body, "Damn. He's dead…. Aren't you glad my dad taught me how to shoot when I was ten?" Edward nodded wordlessly as he looked back down at the cooling corpse, thankful that it wasn't him laying there on the floor. He had never been thankful for someone knowing how to shoot in all his life, until this moment.

As the adrenaline, which caused by the stressful situation, slowed its coursing through their veins, the gravity of the situation came crashing down on Edward and Bella. Edward's hands started shaking due to shock. Bella just stood there, stunned, staring at the body she killed. Even though she knew it was self defense, she had never killed anyone before and she didn't like the feeling of knowing she had taken another person's life. She had hoped she would never have to, but her father helped her develop skills to protect herself in case she ever found herself in danger.

When the adrenaline completely crashed and she could feel again, she looked down at her shirt and saw a sinister, wet stain that was slowly seeping further and further out in the fabric. She touched the stain on her shirt and pulled her fingers away to see the blood on the tips. The gun slipped from her other hand and landed with a solid clank on the hardwood floor.

At the sound, Edward looked up from the lifeless body and saw Bella standing there with a large, dark stain on her shirt that was now quickly seeping down her right jean clad leg and the same substance on her fingers. He sprinted over to her as she collapsed on the floor, weakened from the blood loss and now the physical pain. Edward fell to his knees next to her and grabbed her hand as she blinked rapidly, trying to make sense of what happened to her and when.

"Bella?" Edward asked weakly.

She forced a smile up at his worried and stressed face to appease him and to try to keep him calm. "Hey…"

"What can I do?"

"Um…" she tried to think but her mind was a completely jumbled mess at the moment. "Phone. Call for help…"

"Okay, I'm going. Can I help you somehow? What do you need me to do?"

"You could always go get me a tampon," she joked weakly with a half hearted chuckle, "They're supposed to stop the bleeding, right?"

"I'll be right back. I'm going to go get the phone and come right back. Please keep your eyes open. Okay? Please?" he begged and pleaded with her.

Edward rushed off quickly, scrambling to find what he needed. He came back with a tampon just in case she wasn't joking, a towel, and the phone. He dialed 9-1-1 as he put the towel on her abdomen and pressed down to stop the bleeding. He yelled into the phone when the dispatcher connected the call. He told her everything that happened, where the house was and that Bella was hurt along with another kidnapper. Knowing the teenagers' back story, the police rushed to the address, along with two ambulances.

Edward held Bella's hand as they waited for the paramedics. The more blood loss Bella sustained, the paler and clammier and weaker she got until finally she couldn't keep her eyes opened.

The police and paramedics arrived a few moments later, crashing through the front door, into the house and the police cleared it while the EMTs immediately started working on Bella to keep her alive. They pumped her full of fluids and saline to try to stabilize her as they took her vitals and transferred her onto the gurney.

Carlisle and Esme pulled up to a commotion in the front of their house just as the paramedics were wheeling Bella out to the ambulance to transport her to the hospital for surgery. Esme cried out when she saw her newly adopted daughter on the gurney, white as a sheet. Carlisle told her to stay at the house while he rode with the paramedics.

Esme entered the house to look for Edward and bypassed two male paramedics helping a surly looking man cupping his crotch. She heard one of them tell the other, "I think his testicle is dislodged. Good Lord, that's gotta' be painful…"

"If it's dislodged, where did it go?" the other one asked uncomfortably.

"Don't know. It's floating somewhere near there. Even if they find it and manage to resituate it, I doubt he'll be able to have children."

Esme found Edward sitting on the couch in the next room. The police had situated him in the living room to try and calm him down once he was out of sight of the still body. She clutched him to her in thanks that he was unharmed and still alive.

As they waited for news, they heard the police officers radios call out, "DOA at the hospital. They're attempting to revive now…"

The rest was tuned out as they sat in shock. Edward cried on Esme's shoulder as she held him close and ran her fingers through his hair to calm him while she silently cried atop his head. The sixteen year old girl that was with their family for only a few short weeks, who brought so much life and hope into each situation, was now gone.

*U*N*C*H*A*I*N*E*D*

Edward pulled a large plastic storage box out of the trunk of the car and looked up at the three story, six bedrooms, five and a half bathroom old ranch house and sighed. This was what his life turned into. From having everything in Malibu to living in Shamrock, Texas, the smallest town in the country it seemed. He was lucky if there were two restaurants in town. And a movie theater in town? No point in a place this small. But no matter what he had to give up or go without, this is what they all needed. A new start somewhere. They needed to get away from the memories and the press. They needed a place where nobody knew the stigma around them and, if he could help it, they would never find out.

He made his way up the steps and in the front door before he looked around at the spacious, yet unfamiliar house and put the box of kitchen utensils down on the pristine granite counter top.

It was hot there; hotter than he knew was possible, but that didn't stop him from being relieved they were here and not back in California. He had moved two other boxes from the car into the house previously and he had already broken into a sweat. He swiped his forehead clear of the moisture as his uncle walked in with another box of essential kitchen utensils.

The box was set next to Edward's before his uncle Carlisle clapped him on the back. Edward glanced up at his uncle and asked, "Did we really have to move here? I understand we needed to get out of the city, but why Shamrock? It has to be the smallest town in the country…"

Carlisle sighed for what felt like the millionth time since the suggestion to move was brought up and responded, "With them breaking into the old house and the whole Bella situation, your aunt and I thought it would be best if we got you out of there and into a smaller town off the beaten path. It's not like the press would look for us here. There were too many memories for all of us back there. Maybe leaving there will help us move on and get past what happened. And besides, we figured, you know, Shamrock, it's supposed to be a good luck charm or something. I guess we thought this family could use all the help we could get."

"I hope you're right," Edward mumbled as he walked back out to the car to grab the last box so his aunt didn't have to bother with it.

They only brought the essentials they would need for a day or two, such as sleeping bags, pillows, tooth brushes, and a couple of days' worth of clothing and pajamas while the rest of their things would come in on the moving trucks in the morning. Edward let out a relieved breath when he remembered the movers would be the ones to haul everything into the house and arrange it to Aunt Esme's specifications.

Edward picked up the last box from the second car's trunk and walked up to the deep wraparound porch. He stopped in front of his aunt who had been perched on the top step and asked, "How are you doing with the move? I know you gave up your job in Malibu to move here…"

She waved her hand dismissively at him and smiled as she stood. "Nonsense. I'm a computer programmer. I can work anywhere and your uncle is a very well known, prestigious, sought after doctor. Any hospital would be stupid to turn him down for a job. Besides, this is what you needed to move on. You come first. And as your guardians, we're going to put you first. Don't worry about a little thing like moving."

"Thank you," Edward whispered sincerely, "For everything. I know it's not easy for you to change everything for me, even though that meant moving to this speck of a town."

She pulled him into a hug. "All that mattered to us was what's best for you. Now, I don't want to hear another word about this move. That's final. We worry about you. Take that box inside and look around. I know you must be curious. Tomorrow, while the movers are here, I want you to go explore the town a bit."

"Thanks Auntie Em. Now, what's for dinner?" he asked cheekily.

She scoffed at the name and ruffled his hair like she would have when he was younger and told him, "Pizza, you hungry boy." She smirked at him remembering his normal tricks, "The usual and don't you even think about trying to con a fourth pizza out of us like you usually do."

Edward groaned half heartedly with a smile on his face and nodded at his aunt as he walked into the house.

He set the box down next to the others on the kitchen counter top as his uncle looked over at him with a small smile. Edward saw how he had already started putting things away in the drawers and cupboards. He watched his uncle as he spoke, "Auntie Em wants me to tell you that you need to order the usual pizzas."

Carlisle laughed, "You know she hates that name. Why must you pester her with it? Are you sure you don't want to try and finagle an extra one out of the deal?"

"Nah, I think I'm good this time around. Thanks though. I pester all in good fun. I'm going to take this upstairs and find a room to claim," Edward chuckled as he motioned to the box.

"Go on," Carlisle urged his nephew as he picked up the phone book to find a nearby pizza shop, "I think Esme wanted us to sleep in the family room tonight so there would be less of a mess to deal with tomorrow morning."

"Sounds good," Edward mumbled and picked up the box again, walking out of the kitchen and up to the third floor to claim a room. He looked into a few before he saw one with a few boxes piled in a corner, smiled and walked down the hall and placed his box in the corner of a clear room before he headed back down to the first floor.

That night, when they were hunkered down in their pajamas, all curled up nice and warm in their sleeping bags, Edward reached out and pulled her close to him, spooning her back. He breathed her essence in before barely audibly asking, "Did you take your medication tonight?"

"Yeah," she whispered back sleepily, mimicking his volume as she pressed further into his chest.

Edward closed his eyes and pulled her close to him even tighter as he wrapped himself around her small body. He felt the rhythmic breaths that signaled to him she had fallen asleep. He pressed his nose into her hair and, as he succumbed to slumber, mumbled, "Sweet dreams, Bella."

The End.

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**I got a B+ on this. Please leave a review and tell me how you think I did. I know it's a little choppy at times, but there was only so much I could fit into ten pages. Remember, review to help me learn what I could improve on, just don't be nasty to be nasty. Being mean helps no one, least of all you and me.**

**For all of those people reading MB, I have a few pages already written, I just need to type them up, but I know I'm going to want some more in there so please be patient. I have been antsy and itching to get back to writing it. I feel very pent up like I'm forgetting something. Thank you all who have followed me through this and have been loyally reviewing after each chapter. I love getting feedback on the things you think. Thank you all!**


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